Some questions from a newbie

[Darthvegeta800]

To accustom myself to the system I played the Waterloo campaign 3x... with the French of course!

I won all three times on points. Granted the A.I. was not put very high to learn the system.
But I was wondering about a few things, the veteran grognards can hopefully expand upon or explain:

1) Is it a doable or even wise strategy to zip forth and try to take the key cities? Seems to me it's better just to hammer the Coalition and win on points.
2) March to the sound of the cannons: Exactly how does it work and when does it activate? As I have some trouble guessing when units will or will not come to the aid of others.
3) Do you guys tend to keep Napoleon behind or use him more proactively as a commander?
4) Is there value in merging armies into large blocks? Or does it have little effect if i just get my divisions in the same place?

Any specific hints or tips you can give me?

[loki100]

sort of in order:

a) since this is the Napoleonic era, destroying your opponent's army should be the goal --- its not the Seven Years War . Of course sometimes taking key resources is the easiest way to destroy their ability to fight

b+c) these link. Ok this is a complex concept but key to good play. The basics are simple. Each 'army' has an 'army HQ' stack on 0+ 'corps'. Any formation in an 'army' can support another in combat in a neighbouring province. Now there are rules for which is most likely to respond and the 'army HQ' stack gets a particular bonus. So if Napoleon, plus some well chosen elite force is your reserve, he's highly likely to respond.

--- rather than burden you with details, basically a corps etc is more likely to react if: the journey time is short (so say the provinces are connected by a major road); the opposite applies, so reacting across an unbridged major river, into a wooded-hills province is very unlikely; the higher the initiative rating of the immediate commander and the commander in chief (Napoleon again); if the stack is activated; if the stack is an offensive stance

It also is tested each hour after the first, so a support corps may contribute in one round and fail the test in another.

Its a critical part of good AGE play, but sooner or later it will fail you, so you can't rely on it. Especially if you are on the defensive or plagued with poor commanders

d) watch out for command limits, try not to exceed these. Also huge armies may have supply and movement penalties. There is though another tricky rule which is stack targetting. Basically once battle commences each separate stack picks an opposing stack (often both sides will have more than one), if you have too many small stacks there is a risk these might be targetted by a powerful enemy stack and overwhelmed (think of it as a subset of a battle where command or terrain has allowed the enemy to isolate a small detachment). This is bad news. So the advice is to follow the goldilocks principle .... if I am going to have stacks in the same province I make sure each is as large as I can safely make it.

[monniker]

Like Lee for the Confederates, some leaders are too good not to use. Napoleon benefits from extraordinarily good stats, and I would recommend using him as a beat stick. My experience in the smaller scenarios indicates that he's very good at it, especially given his ratings and abilities. Remember that an Army HQ will only attack first if it's the only stack in the area- though I may be slightly off on the "first" part.

I've seen a lot of people who are smarter than me recommending some cavalry in the reserve force for pursuit hits (in other games, mind you), but against Athena it's not necessary. My golden rule is usually get where you're going with enough force and everything more or less follows.

Now, as to priority I would have to say it's a measure of personal taste, but do remember that taking cities forces the enemy to swallow a NM hit, and combined with some good battles it can win the game. Combat power reacts to morale levels, so it's always good to see it going up.

Which addresses my last thoughts. I always prefer bigger corps than not. While you can gamble on MTSG, it's best to have enough to last long enough for forces to react, and to hedge your bets. Besides, it makes it easier to exploit a smashing victory, at least to me. But that mindset also comes from usually playing sides that have fewer quality leaders. With the activation rules, you don't want to be caught in a situation where you have an inactive leader. France really doesn't have to worry about that, except in its side theaters. Big problem for Spain, though.

[Darthvegeta800]

Awesome feedback guys! Thanks!

[Pocus]

Feedbacks from veterans are always appreciated, and by us too, because they are of great help! We never forget that

[Suvorov928]

Last night, I was attacking two provinces and had Napoleon adjacent to both, but not committed to either. He ended up reinforcing BOTH battles(Man that guy can move) and allowed me to win both battles. I am going to further test this, but I would much prefer him being able to use MtSG at multiple battles than being committed to a single battle. Would love to see if others have noticed this as well.

[Darthvegeta800]

Another stupid set of questions probably...

But I've moved to the 2nd scenario and plan to play it a few times to further learn the system. (and will move on doing so... each time playing each scenario many times)

But how long does it take to besiege a city? And are there special conditions? Sometimes my forces don't seem to siege. Also my troops don't always attack even if it's like an enemy supply wagon just 'standing' somewhere.

Am I correct in assuming usually I should like it was historically... cleave into the heartland and go on search and destroy missions?
Probably an odd question but traditional strategy games tend to push you into conquering territory hence it is odd to see all these little enemy flags 'enduring'

Regarding supply posts. Is it vital to make these in the second scenario? I'm rather far in it and i have the impression it is not really necessary. But I might be entirely wrong.

[loki100]

first, there are no stupid questions - people who have been playing AGEOD games for ages disagree about some rules/concepts

for sieges, some units and commanders have a special trait. Overall its a test between how much specialist destructive power you have (big guns, sappers, some commanders) and how much defensive power (same issues) exist. If you have more you get a breach. You can assault (red stance) if you have one less breaches than the fortress level (but be prepared for losses). There are special event cards that give you breaches etc but I'm not sure if these exist in the scenarios or the campaign.

So if you siege with a normal commander, field guns and infantry you won't make much progress (till the enemy runs out of supplies).

Don't worry if you don't own irrelevant provinces, there is no gain/loss as long as your lines of communication/supply are functioning. For depots, in good weather and good communications (major roads) one every 4-5 provinces should keep the supply flowlng, you'll need more in poor weather or less developed regions

[Darthvegeta800]

first, there are no stupid questions - people who have been playing AGEOD games for ages disagree about some rules/concepts

for sieges, some units and commanders have a special trait. Overall its a test between how much specialist destructive power you have (big guns, sappers, some commanders) and how much defensive power (same issues) exist. If you have more you get a breach. You can assault (red stance) if you have one less breaches than the fortress level (but be prepared for losses). There are special event cards that give you breaches etc but I'm not sure if these exist in the scenarios or the campaign.

So if you siege with a normal commander, field guns and infantry you won't make much progress (till the enemy runs out of supplies).

Don't worry if you don't own irrelevant provinces, there is no gain/loss as long as your lines of communication/supply are functioning. For depots, in good weather and good communications (major roads) one every 4-5 provinces should keep the supply flowlng, you'll need more in poor weather or less developed regions

Thanks for the info. I did finish the scenario yesterday with a victory but I did not assault or make depots. I did take one crucial city after a prolonged siege.
I do think i've been neglecting those stances.

It would be nice to see some youtube AAR's pop up beyond the tutorial ones.
Usually the best way for me to learn is to do things in a tutorial and then practice makes perfect but like most games like this, in game tutorials must be a daunting prospect or almost always lacking.

[monniker]

Ultimately, and while I may be alone in this opinion, I think there's no real substitute for the Grand Campaigns. If you're willing to go back a few turns, an excellent way to get a feel for the mechanics would be to play as a small major nation. Any power other than the Big 3 and Austria (who gets invaded by France pretty fast in my games) can teach you the fundamentals to your economy, and to diplomacy.

I've learned a lot in my current game as Spain, where I'm in November of 1805, and I pushed the British out of Gibraltar and Malta, effectively dominating the Mediterranean Sea as a naval power, and I am expanding into North Africa. The real fun in playing a minor-Major power is that you don't have to worry about beating everyone- you just have to learn who in the playground you can get away with bullying, and who you have to push hard and then run from. The allure of playing as France is great, but the other nations that have to wait for Corps will teach you the fundamentals.

Besides, since you have such limited forces as a (relatively) minor power you can focus more on really getting people to where they need to be. And your own turns will be relatively quick, so you can really focus on when you get your resources and what sort of builds your nation can really sustain, especially when you factor in the need for replacements.

Just keep an eye on Cohesion and Supplies (the blue and green bars, respectively) before you commit to an attack, and find someone smaller than you that you can bully to get the hang of how War Score works (though as Spain your first priority would be to push the British out of Gibraltar or otherwise negotiate peace, as you'll need unrestricted naval transports to really expand). The Campaign is long enough where you only really have to go back a turn if you really take a beating.

Keep asking questions, and most importantly, don't forget to have fun!

[Darthvegeta800]

Ultimately, and while I may be alone in this opinion, I think there's no real substitute for the Grand Campaigns. If you're willing to go back a few turns, an excellent way to get a feel for the mechanics would be to play as a small major nation. Any power other than the Big 3 and Austria (who gets invaded by France pretty fast in my games) can teach you the fundamentals to your economy, and to diplomacy.

I've learned a lot in my current game as Spain, where I'm in November of 1805, and I pushed the British out of Gibraltar and Malta, effectively dominating the Mediterranean Sea as a naval power, and I am expanding into North Africa. The real fun in playing a minor-Major power is that you don't have to worry about beating everyone- you just have to learn who in the playground you can get away with bullying, and who you have to push hard and then run from. The allure of playing as France is great, but the other nations that have to wait for Corps will teach you the fundamentals.

Besides, since you have such limited forces as a (relatively) minor power you can focus more on really getting people to where they need to be. And your own turns will be relatively quick, so you can really focus on when you get your resources and what sort of builds your nation can really sustain, especially when you factor in the need for replacements.

Just keep an eye on Cohesion and Supplies (the blue and green bars, respectively) before you commit to an attack, and find someone smaller than you that you can bully to get the hang of how War Score works (though as Spain your first priority would be to push the British out of Gibraltar or otherwise negotiate peace, as you'll need unrestricted naval transports to really expand). The Campaign is long enough where you only really have to go back a turn if you really take a beating.

Keep asking questions, and most importantly, don't forget to have fun!

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to jump into a pbem grand campaign and was planning to pick up a minor nation anyway. I noticed in a lot of complex games its always useful not too have to micromanage a kazillion units anyway.